Method of conducting nocturnal policing inspections by controlling interior lights of buildings

ABSTRACT

A method of inspecting the interior of a building for the presence of unauthorized persons, or other irregularities, at night is disclosed. A patrolman or night watchman is positioned at a vantage point exterior to the building for observing its interior through a window and is enabled to turn on the lights inside the building to fully observe the interior.

AU 233 EX uuluiu DICIICD fulfill.

Burgess 5] Jan. 18, 1972 54] METHOD OF CONDUCTING 2,954,545 9/1960 Drake..340/171 NOCTURNAL POLICING INSPECTIONS f 1??? o nson ..34 BYCONTROLLING INTERIOR LIGHTS 3,500,326 3/1970 Benford.. ...340/164 x 0FBUILDINGS 3,513,443 5/1970 Andersen ..340/l64 [72] Inventor: Louis M.Burgess, 6026 North 9th Street,

Arlington, Va. 22205 [22] Filed: Dec. 3, 1969 [2i] Appl. No.: 881,723

[52] U.S. Cl ..340/l47, 340/164, 340/171, 340/329, 340/330 [51 1 Int.Cl. ..H04q 1/00, H04q 5/00, H04q 9/00 [58] Field of Search ..340/l64,171, 329, 330,147

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 757,364 4/1904 Thorsen..340/329 Primary Examiner-Harold l. Pitts Attorney-Paris, Haskell &Levine ABSTRACT STEPEING SWITCH 7 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures manta: we 3355 4 LIGHT CIRCUIT l5 l6 l7 l8 J [:3 I: E} I3 STEFENE F SWITCH 39STEPPING SWITCH 14 FIGB INVENTOR LOUIS M. BURGESS ATTORNEYS METHOD OFCONDUCTING NOCTURNAL POLICING INSPECTIONS BY CONTROLLING INTERIOR LIGHTSOF BUILDINGS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the past, a night watchmanor patrolman conducted a visual inspection of a building's interioreither by physically entering the structure to conduct the search, orshining a light through the windows and observing from outside.

Both methods of inspection have disadvantages. In the first method, theperson making the inspection may unintentionally disclose his presenceto an unauthorized person who may see or hear the various approachnoises of the guard. Entering the building also requires considerabletime limiting the number of inspections a guard may make during thecourse of one night. Further a guard must be provided with keys forentering all buildings to be inspected.

The second method of inspecting the interior of a building from theoutside through a window also has disadvantages. The guard is forced toconduct only a cursory inspection due to limited visibility afforded bya portable lighting means and an unauthorized person inside can usuallyhide and avoid detection from the guards portable flashlight.

ADVANTAGES OF THE PRESENT INVENTION An important advantage of thepresent method of inspecting the interior of a building at night is thatthe guard may conduct a more complete search without having tophysically enter the building.

A second advantage of this inspection method is that the guard may makea more complete search of the buildings interior through the increasedlighting capability provided by the regular lighting system inside thebuilding.

A third advantage of this inspection method is that a guard can conducthis search more quickly than would be possible by fonner methods ofinspection and it is more difficult for a person inside to hide fromview.

A further advantage of this inspection method is that it affords a guardconducting a nocturnal inspection with the element of surprise over anunauthorized person inside the building.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention pertains to a method ofinspecting the interior of a building at night from outside by viewingthrough a window or similar vantage point to determine the presence ofunauthorized personnel within the building. To conduct this inspectionthe building is provided with externally operable switching meansaccessible to a police or guard located outside the building that areconnected to turn on the lights inside the building when operated by acode means outside the building. When the guard positions himself nearthe window and applies a correct decoding combination to the externalswitch,

a circuit to the internal lighting system is completed tocompletelyilluminate the area. Aided by this complete internal illumination, theguard may quickly determine the presence of unauthorized personnelinside the building, and if all is in order, may quickly depart toinspect the next building.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. I is a schematicillustration of one manner of practicing the invention using coded keyactuation of the external switch,

FIG. 2 illustrates a second manner of practicing the invention usinglight actuation,

FIG. 3 illustrates a third manner using sound actuation of the switch.

FIG. I depicts one manner of practicing the invention to aid a nightwatchman or policeman in rapidly and effectively conducting aninspection of the interior of a building. The building is provided withkey-operated lock-type electrical switch II placed in a location knownonly to properly authorized persons. This switch is positioned foraccess at the exterior of the building and preferably near a window ordoor opening through which the entire interior can be clearly viewed.The switch 11 is in turn connected to the interior lighting circuit inparallel with the usual master switch I3 provided inside of thebuilding. A policeman or guard provided with the proper coded key 10 canoperate the lock switch 11 to turn on the interior lighting systemwithin the building.

Consequently by merely turning on the interior lights, a policemanlocated outside the building can clearly view the entire interior of thebuilding to detect any unauthorized persons inside, and can do so usingthe element of surprise so that any such person is not given anopportunity to hide or avoid detection. After completing thisinspection, the patrolman can turn the key 10 to its off position,extinguishing the lights of the building and returning the interior ofthe building to darkness. He can then remove the key and proceed toinspect the next succeeding building.

An alternative method for conducting a nocturnal inspection is shown inFIG. 2. Here the building is provided with a stepping light switch 18operated by a photocell l6 and ampli'- fier 17; with switch 18 connectedin parallel with the master switch 13 inside of the building, to operatethe interior lighting system. In this embodiment. the guard or policemanuses his flashlight 15 to operate the building interior lighting systeminstead of a key 10 as in FIG. I. Specifically, the guard pulses orflashes the beam from his flashlight 15 to operate the building interiorlighting system instead of a key 10 as in FIG. I. Specifically, theguard pulses or flashes the beam from his flashlight 15 onto thephotocell I6 according to a preset code. The electrical pulses generatedby the photocell 16 are amplified by amplifier l7, and each pulse movesthe contact of the stepping switch 18, of a conventional nature commonlyused in the telephone applications. A preset number of such pulses movesthe switch contact to a proper tenninal to turn on the lights inside thebuilding the same manner as previously discussed. This enables thepoliceman to observe the interior of the building which is now fullyilluminated by the overhead interior lights, and he can therefore easilydetect any unauthorized occupants.

A number of preset coding systems may be used with such a steppingswitch 18 that are known only to the policeman or guard so as to avoidany accidental or unauthorized switching on of the interior lights ofthe building. For example, the photocell 16 operated switching means 18can be preset to receive a specific number of on and off light flashesfrom the flashlight I5, to turn on the light. A similar, or differentcode, of flashing light pulses may be used by the guard to turn off theinterior lights using the same mechanism, so that the patrolman may beagain be flashing his flashlight 15, turn ofi the interior lights afterhe has completed his inspection of the building and has determined thatconditions inside are safe and proper.

In many instances it may be desirable to provide an automatic mechanismfor turning off the lights after a time internal has elapsed that issufficient for enabling the patrolman to fully observe the interior ofthe building and to apprehend any unauthorized occupants. For example, atime delay operated switch opening mechanism (not shown) may beincorporated in or connected to the stepping switch circuit toautomatically open the circuit and extinguish the lights after a presettime has expired.

FIG. 3 shows a third arrangement for conducting a nocturnal inspectionof the interior of a building from outside. Here the building isprovided with an externally accessible microphone 20 that responds to aparticular frequency, or to a code of sound frequencies, and thepoliceman or guard is provided with an acoustic frequency source I9 thatgenerates a sound frequency, or code, at or above a range audible tohumans. This source may be in the form of a simple whistle, or may bemore elaborate pushbutton-operated sound source 19, In the same manneras previously described, a guard desiring to inspect the buildingoperates his special whistle 19 of other source near the microphone 20or sound detector. This microphone responds to produce electricalsignals that are amplified by amplifier 21 and filtered by a filter 22to prevent operation of the switch 18 by a spurious source; and thenapplied to the stepping switch 18 as discussed above in FOG. 2. Thestepping switch 18 responds to the whistle or sound source in the samemanner as discussed above to close the proper switch contacts forenergizing the lights inside the building. After the patrolman has fullyinspected the interior and determined that all matters are as theyshould be, he can then extinguish the lights by again operating hissound source. Alternatively, as discussed above, the circuit of thestepping switch 18 may be provided with a time delay opening switch (notshown), that opens the circuit after expiration of a preset timeinterval to automatically extinguish the lights inside the building.

It will be appreciated that the method of the present invention isparticularly useful for nocturnally inspecting commercial places ofbusiness, such as gasoline stations, supermarkets, shops and departmentstores, all of which customarily have large plate glass window frontareas that permit observation of almost the entire first floor of theshop or store through such windows when the overhead lights within thebuilding are turned on. The policeman or guard can, therefore, veryrapidly and thoroughly inspect all such stores in a shopping center byproceeding from one to the next and sequentially operating the codingswitches provided for each store as he passes the front window areas andmaking a brief inspection of each store. By providing automaticallyoperating extinguishing switches, this guard can inspect more suchstores within a given time.

It will be appreciated that the coding mechanism described above neednot be usually complex or expensive since it only serves the purpose ofpreventing an unauthorized user from turning on the interior lights ofthe building from a location outside the building and does not provideaccess to the interior of the building. Therefore, in the event thatsuch coding means does become known, or does become accessible tounauthorized users, such as children, the only harm than can be done isthat such persons can operate the interior lights. Furthermore shouldsuch coding become known, the presetting of the stepping switches can bechanged in FIGS. 2

and 3 to change the code; and in FIG. I, a differently coded lock switchmay be substituted to change the code.

What is claimed is:

l. A system for conducting nocturnal policing and inspection of theinterior of buildings from locations exterior of the building throughtransparent door and window openings without entering the buildingcomprising: switching means interconnected with the interior lightingsystem circuitry of the building and accessible to the authorized userexterior to the building, said switching means being disposed adjacentone of said transparent openings whereby the interior of the buildingmay be observed through said opening, said switching means beingnormally inactuable by unauthorized users, and means enabling anunauthorized user to actuate said switching means from the exterior ofthe building while being disposed in a position to observe the interiorof the building through said transparent opening when said interiorlights are actuated.

2. in the system of claim 1, said switching means being coded andrequiring preset decoding actuation by said authorized user.

3. In the system of claim 2, said switching means being a coded lockswitch that is actuable by a coded key.

4. In the system of claim 2, said switching means being responsive tolight and said user employing a light source to actuate said switch.

5. In the system of claim 2, said switching means being responsible toan acoustical wave and said user employing a wave source.

6. In the system of claim 1, said switching means automaticallyextinguishing said interior lights after a preset elapsed time interval.

7. In the system of claim 1, a plurality of said switching means, eachbeing associated with a different one of a plurality of differentbuildings disposed in a grouped array, with each switching meansconnected with the interior lighting circuitry of its associatedbuilding and disposed to be actuated at an exterior location adjacent atransparent opening of its associated building, whereby an authorizedinspector may conveniently and rapidly visit the buildings in said arrayand actuate the interior lighting of any selected ones of said buildingsin any desired sequence and observe the interiors thereof in anysequence without entering any of the buildings.

t i i i

1. A system for conducting nocturnal policing and inspection of theinterior of buildings from locations exterior of the building throughtransparent door and window openings without entering the buildingcomprising: switching means interconnected with the interior lightingsystem circuitry of the building and accessible to the authorized userexterior to the building, said switching means being disposed adjacentone of said transparent openings whereby the interior of the buildingmay be observed through said opening, said switchIng means beingnormally inactuable by unauthorized users, and means enabling anunauthorized user to actuate said switching means from the exterior ofthe building while being disposed in a position to observe the interiorof the building through said transparent opening when said interiorlights are actuated.
 2. In the system of claim 1, said switching meansbeing coded and requiring preset decoding actuation by said authorizeduser.
 3. In the system of claim 2, said switching means being a codedlock switch that is actuable by a coded key.
 4. In the system of claim2, said switching means being responsive to light and said useremploying a light source to actuate said switch.
 5. In the system ofclaim 2, said switching means being responsible to an acoustical waveand said user employing a wave source.
 6. In the system of claim 1, saidswitching means automatically extinguishing said interior lights after apreset elapsed time interval.
 7. In the system of claim 1, a pluralityof said switching means, each being associated with a different one of aplurality of different buildings disposed in a grouped array, with eachswitching means connected with the interior lighting circuitry of itsassociated building and disposed to be actuated at an exterior locationadjacent a transparent opening of its associated building, whereby anauthorized inspector may conveniently and rapidly visit the buildings insaid array and actuate the interior lighting of any selected ones ofsaid buildings in any desired sequence and observe the interiors thereofin any sequence without entering any of the buildings.